Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Face the Wall and Reflect
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"A favor? Don't make me laugh."
Balder sneered, prowling around the sofa. His gaze was fixed on Loan, a sword now in his hand.
The murderous intent filling his eyes suggested he was quite confident in his swordsmanship.
"Do you have any idea how disappointed I was when you left Dughton?"
"Were you fond of me?"
Loan had never once felt any hint of affection from him.
At first, it was contempt, then rage, followed always by fear, and he had remained wary until the very end.
Now, all those emotions were faintly blended together.
Perhaps he knew his mind had been read.
Balder deliberately scrunched up his face. Then, pretending not to have heard Loan's question, he continued with what he wanted to say.
"I was planning to beat you to death with my own hands… and now, of all things, I get to kill a member of the Union."
"For someone talking so big, your smashed-up face still hasn't healed, has it?"
Balder's face could hardly be called normal.
It was the result of picking a fight with Loan and having his face slammed into the ground.
His nose and cheekbones had collapsed, and a significant part of his face had been scraped away, but living in a shelter meant he hadn't received proper treatment.
Perhaps Loan's words were too much of a provocation.
Balder, who had seemed incredibly agitated just a moment ago, suddenly adopted a calm gaze.
Yet, a vicious killing intent seemed to stir the murky mana within his body.
‘Looks like he’s been properly trained.’
Loan was slightly impressed.
At the very least, it seemed he wouldn't let his excitement hinder his performance.
A very basic, yet surprisingly difficult, thing to master.
Thanks to that, Loan was also reminded of his own mission, which he had momentarily set aside.
The mission was the annihilation of the target.
There was no need to extract information about higher-ups or interrogate them about other crimes.
All he had to do was kill them.
Indeed, seeing the naked women lying in a corner and the bound children, it was something that needed to be done immediately.
"I won't need the others."
He spread his hands wide, revealing himself as if unarmed.
Had the twelve Shevilles not been floating in the air, it might have actually been true.
But countless people had either forgotten or ignored that fact.
"You son of a…"
One of the underlings was suddenly decapitated.
He had been greatly displeased with the conversation between Loan and Balder, and the moment Loan provoked them, he had gripped his sword and charged forward, likely about to curse.
Soon after, others, agitated by the fountain of blood spurting from their comrade's neck, charged in as well.
*Swoosh—*
A closed space. Had he ever truly utilized Convection in a place this confined?
Once the flow was established, maintaining the Convection required little conscious thought.
Thanks to this, he could make it stronger, thicker.
The initial start was magic, but after that, certain laws of nature came into play.
Utilizing this well was the essence of the magic Loan wielded, and the environment here was now perfectly optimized for his telekinesis.
‘There’s always something new to learn.’
Loan's senses, now one with the Convection, sharpened keenly.
He could feel who took what posture, at what time, and in what position, even before seeing their mana.
"Gah!"
Merely placing the Shevilles on the solid rails of the current was enough to pierce the enemies' hearts and send their heads tumbling down.
By that powerful telekinesis.
Boris, who had been watching the situation from his seat on the windowsill, had a look of astonishment on his face.
He had held daggers between his four fingers, ready to throw them if needed, but it seemed the opportunity would never come.
On the contrary, watching the flying Shevilles made his own weapons and abilities feel utterly pathetic.
In just a few seconds, Loan had killed all dozen or so members of the Libertha gang.
All except for one: Balder.
He was tracking the floating Shevilles with dazed eyes, as if in a dream.
"I knew it… that weird thing… it was magic."
And yet, the way he slowly re-gripped his sword was quite impressive.
How had Balder, who couldn't even read, let alone practice mana cultivation, become a being with such magical power?
It was hard to believe he had filled himself with such murky mana simply through cultivation. Could it be that Libertha also borrowed the power of demons?
To what extent had he mastered the swordsmanship he had supposedly learned directly from a high-ranking Libertha swordsman?
And how far had Loan himself come?
The two boys, with their long-standing grudge, faced each other in a sea of blood.
Balder proposed.
"It's cramped. Shall we go outside?"
"No."
A firm refusal.
He had already gained complete control of the space itself.
He had established Convection above and a Domain below.
It was a chance to test if he could subdue an opponent without lifting a finger. Why would he give that up for someone else's benefit?
"…I was just trying to help you out, but you don't even realize it."
"You talk too much. You're not doing what you're supposed to."
The dismissive tone continued.
But Balder was not as reckless as the men who had just died.
He pointed his sword at Loan and assumed a proper ready stance. The seething, murky mana gave off the feeling of the calm before a storm.
A moment later, a haze-like energy shimmered at the tip of Balder's sword.
‘So he can manifest Aura… I guess you’d need at least this much to be a regional leader.’
He was, at the very least, a step above Lucas and Sophie.
While Loan was admiring this.
*Thud-!*
A ripple spread from Balder's step. The pools of blood spread out in concentric circles.
Each and every step was filled with magical power. His lower body and movements were incredibly well-trained.
So it was only natural that his sword would pour forth with explosive speed.
But it was already expected.
Loan solidified his Domain, affecting Balder's final step.
"Huh?"
Despite his surprise, Balder immediately twisted his waist to correct his posture.
Loan was inwardly impressed, seeing him right his body in a single motion.
Then, he suddenly closed the distance between them.
As Loan abruptly appeared before him, Balder reflexively squeezed his eyes shut and backed away.
The painful memory seared into him had shattered his nerve.
Experience was a fearsome thing.
"My apologies. It looked like you were about to try some trick."
Loan was genuinely trying to encourage Balder.
He had yet to receive a proper sword strike.
But to the one on the receiving end, it was a clear provocation and mockery.
Balder gritted his teeth, took his stance again, and charged.
The whirlwind of mana surrounding Loan was formidably strong.
Balder let his sword flow along its grain.
In the blink of an eye, the sword flew toward Loan's neck.
Loan reversed its direction.
*Kwaang—!*
The shockwave created by the instantaneous collision of two powerful forces.
Balder was horrified by the immense, invisible power.
His opponent hadn't made a single move.
The sword fragments that had killed his men were merely circling nearby, forming a perimeter.
*Bang-! K-Kwang—!*
Why couldn't he get closer?
*Kwakwang! Kwang!*
Why weren't his attacks working?
What was this force that repelled his sword?
*Kwaang!*
Why was the gap not closing, and why was he, in fact, being pushed back?
"You son of a…"
Still incomprehensible.
Still with an unexplainable power, it was leisurely pushing him back.
Balder felt a long-hidden fear creeping up from the depths of his heart.
He belatedly realized that while he had grown this much, that demonic bastard had grown just as much—no, far more.
Eventually, Balder felt as if he had become a puppet, his arms moving and his legs stepping back against his will.
"You were going to do this so well. Why did you have to struggle?"
Hearing those words, he finally understood his situation.
He was standing perfectly straight, facing the wall, just as Loan had first commanded.
"Face the wall and reflect."
The wall was covered in bloodstains.
Whose blood was it?
He tried to remember, but too many faces came to mind.
"Ughhh…"
Turning his head at the sound of a moan, he saw the trembling woman and children next to the vivid bloodstains.
The terror in their eyes.
Do I have that same look on my face?
Could this be the last sight I ever see?
That couldn't be allowed to happen.
Balder gnashed his teeth and tried to turn his body.
It didn't work.
Instead, he felt an enormous, invisible force crushing him. It felt like his neck was being shoved down, his body squeezed flat.
Resistance was impossible.
*Thud—*
His knees buckled, cracking the floor.
The invisible force made Balder kneel, forcing him to beg for forgiveness before the traces of the murders he had committed.
And now, it was forcibly lifting his head.
Sensing his final moment, Balder gave up resisting and quietly closed his eyes.
‘What would have happened if I had just faced the wall from the start… like he said?’
*Slice—*
As if being executed, his head fell to the floor.
Loan summoned Aul and fed it the man's head.
***
Loan and Boris untied the captives.
Most of them screamed and had seizures.
They had already been through considerable abuse and hardship.
Besides, no matter how wicked the men were, seeing them get their heads chopped off in a spray of blood was hardly a comforting sight.
"Don't worry. We're from the Union. The ones who did this to you are all dead now."
As Loan brought his face close and spoke gently, they slowly began to calm down.
Among them, a woman who regained her composure the quickest spoke up.
"But I don't think we have time for this."
"Why not?"
Loan asked.
The woman's voice was steady, but her eyes still held fear.
"I overheard them earlier. Libertha executives are coming. They were going to hand us and the children over to them."
"Ah… Did they say they were coming here?"
Loan asked as he smoothly rose to his feet.
He headed toward the window.
Although quite a commotion had occurred inside, the vagrants on the street were unchanged.
It was likely because such noisy incidents were a common occurrence.
Loan weighed the thought that perhaps he had killed those inhuman bastards too cleanly, that he should have made them suffer more before they died.
Then, around the bend in the alley, he saw a cluster of murky mana lights converging.
There were quite a few of them.
And every single one of them, like Balder, wore the red muffler that symbolized Libertha.
Boris, who had sidled up to see what was happening, was startled by the approaching group and pulled Loan back.
"There are too many of them. No matter how skilled you are with telekinesis, this is too much. For now…"
"Buuurp—!"
At that moment, Aul let out an unusually loud burp.
It had taken quite some time to digest Balder's head.
In any case, thanks to the bizarre interruption, Boris couldn't finish his sentence.
"What in the…"
Loan gave Boris a faint smile.
Then he suddenly thrust his hand into Aul's mouth, making Boris even more horrified.
As if choosing something from within its stomach, Loan stared at the veranda ceiling and swished his hand around.
‘Still, I should stick with what I’m used to for now.’
With a slight nod, Loan pulled his hand out.
He then loaded a mass of magical power onto the Convection and sent it floating into the sky.
In the distance, the Libertha members were approaching.
Soon, above their heads, hundreds of icicles began to form in midair.